


Questionable Parentage

by Arwyn



Category: due South
Genre: Apology fic, Crack, Happy Ending, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Post-Call of the Wild, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 05:46:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4048468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arwyn/pseuds/Arwyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dief doesn't die. Eventually Ray asked why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Questionable Parentage

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drbrucebananer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/drbrucebananer/gifts).



> Written as apology for the tags on [this post](http://inconclusionray.tumblr.com/post/120355020319/hellotailor-oh-my-godddddddd-i-cant-cope). Which are considerably more angsty than this fic.

Dief doesn't die.

Admittedly, Ray doesn't know much about "y'know, wildlife-type things, that's your bin, er, pot, no, bag, Fraser, that's your thing, I'm still a city slicker inside. You can take the guy outta Chicago, but this heart still beats motor oil." But eventually, sometime after their tenth anniversary ("the real one, Frase, I am not telling the little old ladies down at Margery's about any of the others"), even he realized something was... amiss, about their other housemate.

(Or rather, nothing was amiss -- he remained, and remains, in peak physical condition, despite his steady diet of fruit pie from Mrs Mackenzie and the Twinkies Ray has flown in twice a year. Fraser hasn't yet given up warning him of the consequences of such decadency, although even he feels annoyed at himself over the long-worn chastisements.)

But Ray noticed, and Ray asked ("uh, I know he's your friend and all, probably worried you'll harass him to death if he dares to get decrepit, but uh, even wolves in zoos with the vets and the easy meals and all, they uh, they don't live this long, right?"), and Fraser... well. He doesn't lie, not to Ray. They've exchanged precious few punches, or vows, over the years, and rarely in public, but the unpleasantness over the question of honesty was the closest he'd come to losing Ray for good (for bad, for it would have destroyed him, but he _didn't_ , Ray remains, and none of their arguments since have come anywhere close to that terrifying precipice).

So he didn't lie.

"Well, you see, Ray, Diefenbaker revealed to me not long after he and I met that although he is indeed half Arctic wolf, the other half was not, as I suspected, some sort of Husky at all, but rather -- and I did check him for fever after, but he was hale as always -- not originally of this planet. He was left behind, he believes because the superiority of his lupine half made his relatives jealous, although clearly that is the wishful thinking of a child abandoned, but who am I to disillusion him? He certainly listens to me about precious little else."

Fraser continued the dishes while Ray stared at him, until his partner finally shook himself and threw the towel on the counter (when the towel hook was _right there_ , you'd think after he saw the work that went into constructing wooden counters of this quality, had gained more than a few splinters and on one occasion stitches himself while assisting Fraser with it, that he would be a _little_ more careful with their maintenance and heedful of the effect of water damage, but Fraser knew better than to bring it up, again, and simply sighed and moved the towel to the hook himself).

"You don't wanna tell me? Fine, sure, Dief's an 'alien', whatever, Fraser." And he stalked off, muttering about -- well, it would be impolite, and frankly suicidal for their relationship, for him to pay attention to the things Ray mutters when in a pique.

But really, was it his fault Ray didn't believe him?

**Author's Note:**

> The Dief-is-an-alien idea is owed entirely to pir8fancier, in [Mr Fidgety Meets Mr Snippy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26156), an absolute must-read F/K fic of supreme quality. My take is somewhat different, but should definitely be considered a derivative of Ray's thoughts in that fine story.


End file.
